Published 1 July 2016
Opportunities for growth and development help employees to expand their knowledge, skills and abilities, and to apply the competencies they have gained to new situations. The opportunity to gain new skills and expectations can increase employee motivation and job satisfaction, and help workers to manage job stress effectively.
Providing a good environment and opportunity for growth, organisations are guaranteed to enhance the company’s effectiveness, improving work quality and attract and retain top quality employees. This can be achieved by offering the following;
Financial development and recognition for hard work – Naturally, it goes without saying that incentives are a great way to motivate employees to work hard. Rewards and positive reinforcements are necessary to encourage certain behaviour in employees. By rewarding employees who put in effort for their work, you also promote similar behaviour in the future.
Professional development – Apart from the tangible benefits employees can be awarded, they also want to broaden their knowledge and improve their skills. Organisations can offer inhouse skills training development or support the external educational quests that employees might require to fulfil. Regardless of whether employees are acquiring new useful skills or simply just recording small workplace victories, such progress can be motivation enough for them to be loyal to their work.
Career development – Skilful people generally want to advance in an organisation, they want to succeed and not merely survive. Many individuals are highly motivated by grand titles, added responsibilities, elegant offices and the respect of others in the organisation.
Strong team spirit environment – As social beings, we naturally seek to support from our peers and seek to belong to a group. When faced with tough times, the team should come together to deal with the challenges. This is where a sense of unity is evoked in the team and employees will fell that they are working as a team towards something bigger than themselves.
Transparent and open communication environment – In essence, a transparent and open form of communication addresses the employees’ need to feel valuable and to feel that they belong in the organisation. This results in work being meaningful because employees know that their contribution affects the organisation that they are affiliated with.
Employees perform best when the environment is conducive for growth. When growth opportunities are abundant and organisational doors open, employees work with considerably more vigour than during times when for various reasons opportunities are fewer or put on hold. By providing opportunities for growth and development, organisations can improve the quality of their employees. By providing opportunities for growth and development, organisations can improve the quality of their employees’ work experience and realise the benefits of developing workers to their full potential.
References
http://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/creatingahealthyworkplace/employeegrowth/
